PriusChat Forums - Gen II Prius Fuel Economy

New World Record - 1680 miles per tank

ken1784 — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:05:20 GMT

Hello all,

I would like to report that a Japanese Prius driver, Hata_Hata@Tokyo, achived 1,680 miles/tank (2,704.5 km). :o
The computer mileage was 106.6 mpg (45.3 km/L).
2704km report (Japanese only BBS)

The previous world record was 1619 miles/tank.
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-p...-per-tank.html

Please note that Japanese Prius fuel tank has no bladder and can hold up to approx 15.9 US gallons, 60 liters.

Ken@Japan

2006 need help on oil change

boppo — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:06:37 GMT

Hi all,
I got my 2006 on Friday the 13th of March from a Nisson dealer. I don't know if they put the right oil in but I do know they over filled it and did not put a toyota filter in it. I took some of the oil out of it to get it below the full mark. I have only put 3K on it and will not put much more on it before I store it in the winter. I want to change the oil and filter now and need to know if I should put the 0w30 synthetic or 5w30 regular oil. I now live in upstate NY.
Thanks

MPG increase after first oil change?

yardman 49 — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:14:55 GMT

Hello all:

I had an interesting experience recently.

A few days ago, I took my 2009 in for its first oil change at the purchasing dealer's shop. I asked what they used, and they said "Valvoline 5w-30". I told them that I didn't want it overfilled, but they replied that they had to put in the "amount that Toyota specifies", and gave me a printout that showed the required 3.9 quarts when changing the filter. Anyway, when I got the car home I checked and sure enough, the oil was about 1/4 to 3/8" over the full mark (this part I posted in another thread, and I've since removed the excess oil based on the advice given there).

Anyway, when driving the car home from the dealer, I noticed that the "instantaneous" MPG when the car was not under load seemed to be higher than I remembered previously. And this even though it was overfilled.

I haven't driven the Prius enough since then to see if my average MPG increases. But I'll be doing a lot of driving the next few days, so I should be able to tell then. Also, as previously mentioned, I've since removed the excess oil. (FYI: prior to the oil change, the oil level from the factory was dead on the full mark.)

So I started thinking about this. Is it possible that the oil that comes in the car from the factory is really a heavier weight oil, or possibly has some other additives that help the break in process? I've seen others write that at about 5000 miles the MPGs will go up as the car becomes broken in. But maybe the real correlation is that the original factory oil has been changed?

Just pure speculation on my part.

Driving Past The Add More Fuel Beep

KAR IDEA — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:56:36 GMT

Sooooooo, I grew tired of playing the "Add Fuel" game after driving the car for nearly two years, and adding fuel as soon as the car told me to.

One day 8 tanks ago, I decided to drive 20 miles further and the car took 10.1 gallons. Then 7 tanks ago I drove 30 miles further and the car took 10.6 gallons. Then 6 tanks ago I pushed it to 40 and the car took 10.9 gallons. Then 5 tanks ago I drove 50 miles further and the car took 10.8 gallons. I kept it at 40 to 50 miles beyond the add fuel warning for the next 3 tanks, and the car took between 10 and 11 gallons each time.

I just filled it today and pushed this last tank/bladder to 60 miles further. The car took 11.2 gallons.

If this is information is useful to you, excellent! If it's not, that's fine too. My little experiment in a nutshell, has proven to me anyway, that I am safe driving at maximum, 50 to 60 miles past my add fuel warning...something to keep in mind when on a lonely road with no gas stations in sight. : )

Poor Mileage Since Oil Change

cfvettes — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:24:50 GMT

We recently bought an '04 with 75K. We have been getting right around 49 - 51 mpg regularly. We live in Southern California and have put on 5000 miles since. The mileage numbers on the MFD have pretty well matched up with manually calculated numbers so far.

We took the car in for an oil change and right afterwards filled up the tank. Now ... halfway through the tank, the mileage is only showing 36.4 mpg. Could something done or not done during the oil change have adversely affected our mileage?

Bewildered,

Charles :confused:

Most efficient A/C mode?

alevinemi — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 12:27:20 GMT

This is my first summer with the Prius, and temps have been hitting the 90s lately, and my 50+MPG has dropped to 47ish.

I've never owned a car with a thermostat before. Is there a 'most efficient' way to run the A/C (other than just turning up the temp)?

Should it be in recycled mode, fresh mode, manual override of thermostat, etc?

I have also noticed that it is harder to glide when it is hot out, even if SoC is 4+ bars. The engine is much more willing to engage - sometimes skipping electric-only mode entirely, so if I don't hit glide first try, I can't just back off a bit. Is there any explanation for this.

-->Adam

MPG seems impacted by heat and cold

spidey — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:44:57 GMT

So we are approaching 10K miles since Oct 08. We are getting 48.9 MPG over life of the car. During spring, less AC and no heat, we were getting almost 52MPG but once the hot/humid weather came to NC we have dropped back to 48.8. Not complaining but seems AC also impacts the MPG specifically during that first 5 minutes and we seem to be doing more of those short trips of late.

Actual MPG vs. MFD reading Comparison Spreadsheet

Kenko74 — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:06:02 GMT

After 3200 miles, I reluctantly have to agree that the MFD display MPG is close to reality. The reason I say reluctantly, is that on a tank-to-tank basis, my actual MPG has never agreed with the MFD value (which I reset after every fill up), sometimes being as high as 14 MPG different. But I've kept detailed records of my actual gasoline purchases/MPG with the MFD readings, and after 10 refillings, the average difference between the actual MPG and the MFD readings is only 0.2 MPG.

I've created a nifty spreadsheet that you can use to compare all this. Just fill in the blanks, it does all the calculations. You can, of course, delete my last ten tankfulls of data. I just left them in there so you can see how I justified that the MFD is accurate.

Attached Files

Prius Fuel Economy.xls (93.5 KB)

SHM (Super Highway Mode) or alternative for 65-75 mph range? hints?

cwerdna — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 07:47:42 GMT

(Wasn't sure if I should post here or to cleanmpg.com.)
Ok, so I posted about being new to ScanGauge http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-p...e-mileage.html and tried reading thru the cleanmpg SHM thread listed at http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-p...provement.html and FE Ref Aid.pdf.

I've been trying to experiment w/SHM and have a bunch of questions. Part of the prob is that I'm overwhelmed by all the info and discussions (coupled w/my limited free time) and I think SHM isn't suitable for the speeds I'm driving at. I think I'm able to use SHM fine above 45 mph and <60 mph. Holding IGN 13-15 is ok.

Problems/questions:
- At above lower speeds (~46 to 59 ), how hard should I accelerate?
- What can I do about speeds between 65-76 mph, leaning more towards 68-75? If I use IGN 13 to 15, I lose too much speed.
- At 65-75 mph, IGN 18 totally will not allow for acceleration. I can't even maintain speed at IGN 18.
- Is it useless to attempt SHM while maintaing speeds of 68-75? If no, how hard should I accelerate? It seems like I'm well above 2000 rpm (I remember reading staying <2000 rpm in some post) and well above IGN 18 when trying to pulse. Perhaps I'm too lead footed?
- If it's useless, is there another alternative method at those speeds?
- I don't think know I how to properly get into "warp stealth". Not sure if I should care.

Much of my commute is on a highway where the speed limit is 65 mph and driving 65 means you're going somewhat slow and will have to keep closer to the right. That means I run into all sorts of obstacles (cars merging, slowing to exit, and slow cars). That by itself would cause me to brake (wasting energy), not be able to stay in IGN 13-15, having to pulse, etc.

Michelin Energy Saver tires now on my 05 prius

konakahuna — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:49:41 GMT

so just this morning, i went and had the new michelin energy saver tires put on my 05, replacing some nokian WRg2's that i really liked, but couldn't get locally anymore.

i've only had a couple of miles on them, but one thing i can report is that they're very quiet, perhaps quieter than the nokians. they also seem to have a nice comfy ride, although i haven't upped the tire pressure to my usual amount either.

they also look nice, as tires go. they're got quite as agressive looking as the hydroedge, but not an eyesore either.

michelin claims an 8% increase in fuel economy, although this is compared to a standard tire, so i'm expecting perhaps half of that. still, i'll take an extra 2-3MPG gladly.

will post more as i have more to say. BTW, i got mine from tirebarn for $125ea. which is what tire rack and others were charging. it was a bit more than i wanted to pay, but i have a tendency to be cheap. i got the 185/65/15 size and RPM is 851, so any speedo difference is minor at best.

What accounts for this?

hobba — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 12:30:41 GMT

My last dozen or so tankfuls have yielded wild variations in gas mileage. Every other tank is very low mileage or high mileage. For example, My most recent tankful claims 35.5 mpg based upon the Prius excel spreadsheet available on this web site. The MFD says I got 41.6 MPG, but I only drove 363 miles. My previous tankful was 48.3 based once again in the Excel spreadsheet. This has been the case for each of the the last 13 fillups. One being high, the next being low mileage. I did have the dealer reset the inclinometer the last time I had service, but it hasn't affected anything. My travel is unchanged as is my routing and use of AC which is constant here in FLA. The first three years of ownership, my mileage varied little or not at all. Anyone else share this experience?

Bridgestone Insignia SE200 Tires

Rxmxsh — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:49:10 GMT

So, I went in to purchase BFG Touring T/A T tires, and got baited into the se200's. I've only done about 20 miles (commute to work today) but the rides seems great. My mileage on my commute stayed the same as far as I can tell.

However, my opinion may be crap due to the fact that the Integrity tires had 33k and were COMPLETELY bald. I'll update here when I have more data, but so far, I actually like them, and they gave them to me cheaper than the BFG's.

Does anyone else have this tires?

A few images for inspiration

efusco — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:14:40 GMT

F8L recently posted about his ~$13k in savings from driving his Prius vs his old Prius. Every year or two I sit down and do the math for how much money and how much fuel I've saved driving my Prius (56+mpg) vs the Ford Expedition (12-13mpg) I used to drive as well. While it's difficult to get an exact number on the dollar amount the gallons of gas saved is a much more visual and accessible number.
At about 87000 on my Prius I've now saved over 5000 Gallons of gas over the Expedition!! Thought I'd post a few images of what 5000 gallons of gas could be stored in....

5000 Gallon Wine Barrel:

5000 Gallon Aquarium Tank:

2000 Gallon Fire Engine Tanker:

5000 Gallon Tanker Truck:

We ARE doing some good for this world folks. That how much one person has NOT imported from a terror supporting nation, that's how much CO2 I have NOT produced, that's how much fossil fuels I've saved for later use for those needs where alternative energy is not useful. Whatever your beliefs about tree-hugging, global warming, whatever, this is a good thing when one person can save that much gas without compromising his/her transportation, fun of driving, or convenience.:cheer2:

Help! My Fiance is killing my MPGs!

catsbox — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:19:09 GMT

This is a question for you gentleman. My Fiance is driving my Prius when we go places. He drives like a bat out of you know where, frequently accelerates too fast and won't use the cruise control. How do I "train" him to drive my Prius without hurting his feelings? I have made a comment like "Sweetie, I need to teach you how to drive this car so we can get good MPGs". So I have introduced the topic. I'm thinking of leaving the consumption screen on and challenging him to keep the MPGs above 50. Any suggestions on how I can train him? I don't want him driving my 2010 in the same fashion when I get it. Thanks.

97 MPG commute ... aiming for 100!

JimboK — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:47:01 GMT

Or 95.5 MPG, depending on whether you believe CAN-View or ScanGauge:

Here's the route. I'm helped by light traffic at 6:30 a.m, a ~140' elevation drop, and of course, warm weather. Afternoon commutes don't come close to this -- more like 70-75 MPG.

This is to a temporary work location I've been assigned to for the last 3 months. The assignment is over at the end of this month and I'm back to my normal office, with a somewhat less hypermiling-friendly route. Assuming the weather warms a bit more over the next couple of weeks and as school buses and other school-related traffic disappear, I'm hopeful for a 100 MPG commute before I move back "home."